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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Update #2: In an ironic twist to the fulfillment of what I said below regarding media's use of ever-topping superlatives to try and explain the outsized events occurring almost daily now, the derechos that occurred yesterday and reported on this morning, are by this afternoon called SUPER-derecho. From Accuweather: "Deadly Super Derecho Strikes Midwest, Mid-Atlantic"

We are awakening to reports of some severe weather here in the eastern US overnight.
"As storm reports continue to come in from the severe storms, meteorologists say the storm reports from this event are the 2nd highest reported in a single day in 2012. Millions are without power and travel has been impacted. AMTRAK service has been suspended from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia and Washington D.C to Baltimore due to downed trees and signal power. At least two have died from storm related injuries as of early Saturday morning."
-----------------------------

NOAA defines derecho as "a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. Although a derecho can produce destruction similar to that of tornadoes, the damage typically is directed in one direction along a relatively straight swath."

Although derechos are not unheard of, they are not an everyday occurrence, either. See this frequency map from NOAA. Yesterday's derecho occurred in exactly the place they most likely occur, "along the "Corn Belt" from the upper Mississippi Valley southeast into the Ohio Valley, and the other from the southern Plains northeast into the mid Mississippi Valley."

Yesterday's storms were damaging, especially to the people in Washington DC. This morning millions are without power, and in some cases, it will take multiple days to get them hooked up again. This is bad news, because the extreme heat is supposed to continue. Today's temps are predicted to be triple digit again. A dangerous situation for sure.

The weather has continually been outsized. I often talk about the language newscasters and meterologists use to describe what they are seeing. Increasingly since 2009 they use superlatives such as "greatest," "biggest", "most damaging". But even those top superlatives don't describe what is happening any more. The events keep topping themselves. They now say "Apocalyptic," "epic", "biblical," and "record breaking" or "historic."

The power of words diminishes the more you use one, and the term 'record-breaking', after a while doesn't mean much if records are being broken every day. And they are. Even the Guardian UK asked what is going on:

America in grip of fire and floods
"Natural disasters are wreaking havoc across the US, with the entire state of Florida on emergency flood watch - while, in Colorado, half of the country's entire firefighting force is battling massive blazes that have displaced thousands."

Floods? What floods? Tropical Storm Debby. Oh yes, that's right. Forgotten in the face of the Colorado wildfires, and then immediately after that, the extreme heat and then the derechos. Four disasters in one week, and the brain tries to maintain a sense of perspective, but it can't. Something has to give. Debby's devastating flooding is now relegated to the dustbin of old news, even though it happened just 5 days ago.

I wonder how quickly the plagues of Egypt happened, how long in between them they occurred. Maybe the first few started slowly but by the time the 7th, 8th, 9th plagues came they were overlapping.

Though these are not eschatalogical (end times) judgments per se, like the biblical plagues were, they seem pretty bad as it is. In reading newspaper articles about them, people often refer to the bible. Here is a quote from the Guardian article:

"Local Amanda Rice said: "It was just this God-awful orange glow. It was surreal. It honestly looked like hell was opening up."

"And there I sat in traffic. It’s a memory I’ll never forget. I teared up as I scanned the surrounding cars. Everywhere were children, scared and crying, their parents looking deathly afraid and, in my rearview mirror, a view of the gates of hell."

I want you to think about the heat wave. Here in North GA we had actual temps of 111 yesterday, though the predictions were for 105. Today the predictions are for 109 but I wonder how high the actual temps will be. They are saying that heat indexes (real feel) will be over 114. Yet it will get worse.

During the tribulation, one of the bowl judgments will be to heat up the earth so that people are literally scorched. "The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory." (Revelation 16:8-9).

Bu that time they know and understand that it is God making the crazy weather, not "mother Nature" or "global warning", because the verse says they curse Him. I wonder if it will be that He makes it so hot that asphalt and wood spontaneously combust...or if solar flares actually singe the earth itself...I don't know. But you can imagine the havoc in DC this morning with no electricity yet all this heat. People are going to die today if they can't get cool, it is just a fact. The elderly and the infants and sick will succumb in hot apartments where no air stirs and they can't seem to catch a breath. And yet the bible shows us how much worse it will get.

One thing is better. All this crazy weather activity seems to be making people whose hearts are not closed to Him think of Him. Twitter is the current iteration of vox populi, a Latin term literally meaning 'voice of the people.' Broadcasters use it, a man on the street kind of thing. What are the people saying? Well, this morning I woke up to find on the trending list, "Zechariah 14:9." I can't tell you how rare it is for biblical things to be trending. That means enough people have to be talking about a certain thing over all the world's twitter users, to make the subject one of the top ten of all the things that vox populi could be talking about. Almost always the trends list is stuffed with celebrity news, sports, and meaningless jokes.

Zechariah 14:9 says:

"And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one."

The saints know Jesus is coming soon. We are excited to see what He is doing in the world. Not that people are in pain, obviously, but that His name is on the lips of many, His glory and power are noticed, and that His word is repeated online between and among believers and non-believers alike. This 'crazy weather' isn't crazy. It is a controlled series of events from the Creator of weather, the Creator of the earth and all that is in it. He is telling us something. How many warnings will there be? Not many more, I fear. He has been patient with us, kind and generous. That period of warning will end and after the rapture, the judgments will begin.

I pray you are among the blessed who have already made Jesus your Lord and King. Repentance is the key. Repenting of your sins and appealing to the One Sacrifice who has the ability to forgive them is the way to heaven. The only way. For as the verse in Zechariah says, the LORD will be King over all the earth. Will you face Him as friend, or enemy? Repentence is the key.

Friday, June 29, 2012

"Residents from Chula Vista to Oceanside are reporting a large rumble around 12:45 p.m. Friday.
Some people describe it as sounding like a door slamming while others said it was strong enough to rattle windows.
A check of the U.S. Geological Survey website shows no earthquake activity.
One San Diego resident mentioned the sound via Twitter "Uh... La Jolla just shook. Or at least my street did. Big boom too." Sometimes, a military exercise known as chaff can cause a similar sound. On Friday, however, Tina Stall with the National Weather Service said there was no visible chaff in the area at the time the noise was reported.
A spokesperson from Camp Pendleton said Marines are not training with anything unusual. They often train with various military equipment and will be training with tanks both Saturday and Sunday." (more at source)

I think this is the first time that these worldwide sounds, heard in Russia, Ukraine, Canada, etc have been heard and documented so thoroughly over such a major metropolitan area in the US. People have been calling the strange sound "Sounds of the Apocalypse." I don't know if these sounds are a progressive fulfillment of the following verse, but it certainly gives one pause for thought with all the other historic, apocalyptic, and unusual things happening today on earth. Even the UK Daily Telegraph noted, "America in grip of fire and floods"

"A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 25:31).

Please continue to be in prayer for missionaries, the lost, and the weakening of faith and of strength. The LORD made this promise to Israel but He also will do the same for his Bride:

The Ransomed Shall Return
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
Isaiah 35:1-4

"If you've ever wondered where — and why — earthquakes happen the most, look no further than a new map, which plots more than a century's worth of nearly every recorded earthquake strong enough to at least rattle the bookshelves.
The map shows earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater since 1898; each is marked in a lightning-bug hue that glows brighter with increasing magnitude.
The overall effect is both beautiful and arresting, revealing the silhouettes of Earth's tectonic boundaries in stark, luminous swarms of color. the project offered several surprises.
"First, I was surprised by the sheer amount of earthquakes that have been recorded," Nelson told OurAmazingPlanet. "It's almost like you could walk from Seattle to Wellington [New Zealand] if these things were floating in the ocean, and I wouldn't have expected that."
In all, 203,186 earthquakes are marked on the map, which is current through 2003. ... here are undoubtedly many earthquakes missing, given the dramatic change in scope and accuracy of seismological instruments from 1898 to the present day. Nelson said he saw a huge jump in the volume of data from the 1960s forward." [emphasis mine]

"The earth is utterly broken,the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunken man;it sways like a hut;its transgression lies heavy upon it,and it falls, and will not rise again.' (Isaiah 24:19-20)

A. "There are so many people who don’t expect anything good in life. They don’t expect to get breaks, they don’t expect to get promoted, they don’t expect anything positive. So I just try to get people to say, I believe if we expect God’s favor, if we declare it, if we thank him when we do see good things happening, then we’re going to see more of that." ~Joel Osteen

No it's not. Favor of God is His grace upon us, unmerited. "Grace is free sovereign favor to the ill-deserving.” -Benjamin B. Warfield

It all depends on what one means by "good things." I certainly don't expect good things in life from God on the basis of my sparkling personality or because of the supposed favor I did Him by becoming a believer. Not this life...compared to the next. And yet, I DO expect good things. The Holy Spirit has already deposited Himself in me as a guarantee of my inheritance. That's a good thing! Then He dispensed spiritual gifts as He willed. That's a good thing! He has been growing me in sanctification in ever more Christ-likeness. That's a good thing!

Mr Osteen makes the implication, both overtly and covertly, that your Christianity isn't doing you any good unless you are receiving earthly, material things, and getting "breaks".

In this painful but uplifting story out of Egypt, we learn the hopes and fears of the Christians there in the face of increasing violence and hatred toward them. "The service ends with the Lord's Prayer and instructions for members to exit through the church's back entrance--tear gas is in the air in front. A short time later, a wailing ambulance arrives, delivering six young men. One clutches his wrist; another reveals a back peppered with birdshot. Another will probably lose his eye. The following night, the violence touches the church family. A KDEC teenager is shot near Tahrir. News spreads that someone kidnapped the daughter of a church member. Another member is found dead, murdered on his way home from the airport."

Where are their breaks?? Yet they already know they have their "good things." And they act accordingly. The article continues: "We [converts] could be the first people to be killed," said the activist, who asked for anonymity. "We are the rust in Islam that is corroding the walls. We are the threat." But rather than seeking the first opportunity to leave Egypt, he and others like him choose to stay and exert influence behind the scenes. "Doctors stay in medicine; politicians stay in politics; advocates stay in advocacy," he said. "The salt put in warehouses will just go stale. The salt needs to be in the food."

It all depends on what a person expects is a "good thing." The Egyptian Christians are hoping that if it is appointed for them to die, that they die for His name being uplifted and that hope enter the hearts of the killers. In Mr Osteen's theology, Christians should hope to get a good parking space at the mall. Is the 'good thing' Christ oriented, or me-oriented? The way 'favor' is being used by the prosperity Gospelites are that the things we receive are an identifying confirmation that we who possess many earthly riches have more favor with God than the next person, who doesn't possess as many.

Favor means that I cut ahead of other, sanctified, holy saints to the front of the line? Why would I want to do that? And what line? There's a line? What happens when I get there? Anyway, didn't God say, "So the last will be first, and the first last" ? (Matthew 20:16a). Maybe the head of the line is not good, ha ha. Also, doesn't He love us equally, without favor? As He said to the man in the parable who complained of the ones coming into the vineyard at the last hour, who received the same pay, "I wish to give to this last man the same as to you."

Sort of along the same lines at the man in the parable complaining he'd worked all day and the last guy got the same pay, is this question asked and answered at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry:

"Why does God hear and answer prayers for some and not others even though they live for Him?" At the end of the good essay (I recommend reading it at their site)

"What is the point of doing good then, if not to gain God’s favor? There is every reason in the world to do good! We do get God’s favor, not because He owes it to us, but because when we do good, we are operating according to God’s design for us, and we benefit from this in more lasting ways. We actually get more of God Himself when we follow Him. He is the source of all good."

Therefore, why do I need 'breaks,' when I already possess the universe's greatest break of all? Why isn't that good enough for the positive confession, name it claim it, blab it and grab it people?

An acrostic!

The grace of God IS the favor (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). "That is to say those of us who know God through faith in Jesus Christ are the recipients of the out-pouring of God's continual blessing and favor." MacArthur

But what of passages like this in the bible, you say:

"And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men." (1 Samuel 2:26). Barnes notes explains, "The child Samuel advanced and grew and was good (or acceptable), both with the Lord, and also with men." The word 'favor' translated means 'good, acceptable'. Not that you receive extra special things according to your works.

What of Naphtali's favor? "Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD and
is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake." (Deuteronomy 33:23).
Though it is a different Hebrew word than used in the Samuel verse it means the same thing, "acceptable to the Lord, pleasing, good."

What about Mary? Wasn't she 'highly favored'? "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. (Luke 1:26-28). J. Vernon McGee wrote, "There is a tendency among Protestants to play down the role of Mary, but this tells us that she was highly favored. In the same breath, however, let me say that she was blessed among women, not above women. She is not lifted above women; she lifted up womanhood."

"One thing is clear: while Americans universally want God’s favor, as a whole, they do not want God." (source, John MacArthur above)

What are really asking when we say we "want God's favor"? Is it that we crave His blessings upon us spiritually, as we continually repent of our sins and seek His face, walking in His statutes? No. It is favor upon us personally, as Osteen said, to get breaks, a good parking space at the mall, and a promotion. These kinds of favors are man-sized favors, temporal and earthly, desired by people who live in the flesh. (Mt 6:19)

We should desire the God-sized favor, which means grace on earth and, stored up in heaven. (Mt. 6:20). "Do not exhaust your strength and spend your days in providing for the life here, but let your chief anxiety be to be prepared for eternity...To regulate the heart, it is therefore important that the treasure, or object of attachment, should be right." (Barnes Notes). [Illustration, "On hoarding treasures." Artist unknown. 1593.]

"Freedom, as expressed in Galatians, refers to freedom from the frustrating struggle to keep the law to gain God's favor. It is the freedom of knowing you are accepted by God because of what Christ has done. Such freedom is a tremendous kind of freedom, but it is more than just a deliverance from the oppression of legalism; it is also a positive endowment. When a Christian lives in the flesh, he
forfeits the blessing he would receive if he were living in the Spirit. A Christian can live in the flesh, hoping to earn God's favor, but that only cuts him off from the flow of daily blessing." (source)

Maybe the positive confession, favor-seeking pastors and teachers should just read Colossians!

"Positionally, you cannot increase or decrease in the favor of God. As a genuine Christian, nothing you do, or fail to do, can change to the slightest degree your perfect standing before God--for "in Him you have been made complete" (Colossians 2:10). (source)

Waldo Canyon Wildfire, CO, described as 'epic', 'catastrophic', vicious' (photo source). In my opinion disasters of this scale will only increase, but what's epic is my heartbreak for so many people's losses.

Does it seem like wildfires are increasing? If it seems that way to you, it is because they are. "Thousands of wildfires raged across the United States last year, 2011, burning a record amount of land, especially in the southern U.S. In fact, 2011 the third-most-active fire season since 1960 (when this record-keeping began) with respect to acres burned"

You note that the above promotional poster is a deviant take on the Last Supper of Christ. The illustration depicts a homosexual, naked Jesus presiding over a table filled not with bread and wine, but sex toys.

Oh, Betty. Our clean and wholesome American Icons are continually being deluded and increasingly accepting that which is abominable to God.

Oreo fell to satan's deception, too:
Kraft Foods has posted a beautiful gleaming color picture of an Oreo stacked with six different layers of brilliantly colored filling. They form a rainbow, which in this case is a symbolic statement of Oreo's solidarity with the Gay Pride movement, covering gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons.

Volcanic activity continues. El Hierro in the Canary Islands was again raised to Yellow.
"The most interesting volcano-related event at the moment is certainly the seismic crisis on El Hierro where the high-intensity earthquake swarm accompanied by tremor episodes continues. The quakes, still at "safe" 20 km depth, have now migrated to the El Julan coast where magma could be accumulating. This Spanish media reports the island has elevated itself 2 inches in 4 days-

America is scorched and burning. America's President welcomes the Egyptian Jihadist, caliphate-seeking enemy of Israel to power. Are the two related? I believe indisputably! Things are only going to get worse from here.

Sometimes when the world is going crazy, the best thing to do is simply read some scripture. Feed on it, be bathed in its refreshing waters of truth, let it wash over you and calm your spirit. On days like this, when there is so much calamity, I just read. It is different than studying, or searching, or listening, or skimming. I just read His word and He restores me to equilibrium.

"As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." (Proverbs 25:25) Let His word wash over you as cold water, refreshing you in good news!

I found John 15:1-11 and its parallel passages in Isaiah 5 to be my refreshment. How about you?

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Israel National News: Jerusalem the Immovable Rock
"The call of the world at this time then, is the attempt to lift this 'Immovable rock', but in return, to only find that the word of G-d is the unshakeable truth. All who burden themselves with pressuring Israel in changing what G-d has said in His word concerning Jerusalem, will find themselves facing nothing less than G-d's judgment. Jerusalem will be a cup of trembling to the surrounding nations attempting to take it over from Israel; the June,1967 'Six Day War is an example of the supernatural protection around this Holy Land. His word is faithful and true.'

Uganda The Observer: Are we seeing a prophecy on Damascus?
"Around 720 BC Isaiah prophesied that in the fullness of time (end times), Damascus, the Syrian capital, would cease to be a city and become a ruinous and useless heap of rubble. In the wake of the wider Arab Spring – a wave of upheaval throughout the Arab world – are we really going to see the fulfilment of this damning prophecy in our lifetime?"

" In Isaiah 17:1–3 the Bible declares: “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city. And it will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken. They will be for flocks which lie down and no one will make them afraid. The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria. They will be as the glory of the children of Israel.” Whether in our lifetime or not, these words will surely come to pass because they were declared by God Almighty'. ... What is the key message in all this? In Matthew 24, our Lord Jesus said that during the end times, there would be famines (brought about by economic hardships), wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes, etc."

"Exactly what is happening now. He also said that nobody would know the day or hour (Matthew 24:36), but we would see the signs. For those with casual relationships with God Almighty, it is high time you repented (Acts 3:19, Jeremiah 2:13), asked for God’s forgiveness and began living a Christ-centred life. Time is really short and all of us will stand before God to give an account of our deeds, words and thoughts."

EPIC FIRES IN COLORADO: Is God using natural disasters to get our attention?
'Catastrophic. Epic. Historic. Apocalyptic. Is it possible God is using natural disasters to get our attention? As I write in Implosion, “Natural disasters continue unfolding one after another here in the at home and around the world as they always have. But have you stopped to notice that so many recently are described as ‘historic’ and ‘unprecedented?’

"Thousands of years ago, God told the Hebrew prophet Haggai to write down these words: “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations. . . . I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations’” (Haggai 2:6-7, 21-22). This is Bible prophecy. This is an intercept from the mind of the all-knowing, all-seeing God of the universe. It is a weather report from the future, if you will, a storm warning. It was given to us so that we would be awake and ready and faithful and walking close to Jesus when the tempests come. God told us well in advance that he was going to “shake all the nations.” That certainly includes the United States."

Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) The Fight for Egypt's Future
"To see how Egypt's revolution has changed the lives of its 8 million Copts (Egyptian Christians), walk one block from its epicenter: Tahrir Square.
Pass between the effigies hanging from street lamps, past the ramshackle tents of demonstrators, and turn right at the graffiti-covered concrete blocks barricading the newly elected parliament and loathed police headquarters.
Here sits the largest evangelical Arabic-speaking church in the world--6,000-member Kasr El Dobara (KDEC)."

"The sturdy white sanctuary, lined with tall stained-glass windows depicting New Testament stories of Jesus, is half full on the Sunday evening before the first anniversary of military dictator Hosni Mubarak's February 11 downfall. Attendance is low. Four days earlier, more than 70 soccer fans were massacred in the coastal city of Port Said. A short distance away, angry demonstrators clash with police. ... Are Christians fleeing Egypt? Some, yes. Nearly every church can name a family that has emigrated. Many more families desire to follow suit but cannot.
But the closer one looks, an irony emerges. Coptic leaders report that a significant number of Christians, especially in rural or poor communities, do fear the future. But many of the most ardently Christian--former Muslims who now follow Christ and have the most to lose under an Islamist government--are the most eager to stay. They hold to their love of country--and to their belief in God's promise in Isaiah 19: "Blessed be Egypt my people."
But rather than seeking the first opportunity to leave Egypt, he and others like him choose to stay and exert influence behind the scenes. "Doctors stay in medicine; politicians stay in politics; advocates stay in advocacy," he said. "The salt put in warehouses will just go stale. The salt needs to be in the food."

1. God's word is true and more people are noticing the news lining up with the prophecies because of it
2. We're members of a local church (hopefully) but we are also members of a global church body that extends back to the 3000 saved at Pentecost and into the future when the Church Age ends. There are millions of Christians all over the world right now in pain, jail, torture or loss because of their witness for Christ. Please continue to remember our brethren, and that we are the member of the most glorious Bride of the Lamb, and we should each bear each other's burdens as members of that worldwide, and soon to be heaven-wide, church.

Sometimes people have a hard time believing that satan is god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4). It doesn't mean satan is outside the sovereignty of God, or that he is equal to God. It just means that he has been given authority for a time to operate freely in influencing humans.

GotQuestions explains it this way:
The verse means that it "is the major influence on the mind-set expressed by the ideals, opinions, goals, hopes and views of the majority of people. His areas of influence also encompass the world’s philosophies, education, and commerce. The thoughts, ideas, speculations and false religions of the world are under his control and have sprung from his lies and deceptions."

Since satan's original sin was pride, it is natural that he would want to see himself reflected in anything and everything. He wants to use the earth as a personal mirror, reflecting himself back to himself in as many human endeavors as possible. To this end, he has been fairly successful.

For example, the names for the days of the week originate from Roman, Greek, and Norse mythical false gods. Anything from an ancient myth from any culture is not from God but in fact is satan's attempt to create a false religion apart from God.

Sunday:
The name comes from the Latin dies solis, meaning "sun's day": the name of a pagan Roman holiday honoring the sun god, whom Romans called Mithra and Apollo.

Monday: The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon monandaeg, "the moon's day". This second day was sacred to the goddess of the moon.

Tuesday:
This day was named after the Norse god Tyr. The Romans named this day after their war-god Mars

Wednesday:
The day named to honor Wodan (Odin).
The Romans called it dies Mercurii, after their god Mercury.

Thursday:
The day named after the Norse god Thor. In the Norse languages this day is called Torsdag.
The Romans named this day dies Jovis ("Jove's Day"), after Jove or Jupiter, their most important god.

Friday:
The day in honor of the Norse goddess Frigg.
In Old High German this day was called frigedag.
To the Romans this day was sacred to the goddess Venus, and was known as dies veneris.

Saturday:
This day was called dies Saturni, "Saturn's Day", by the ancient Romans in honor of Saturn. In Anglo-Saxon: sater daeg.

Mercury, planet and false god

The planets are named after Greek gods, corporations and technologies are named after characters and gods in myths (Delphi, Oracle, Amazon, Aetna, Ajax, Juno, Nike, Pandora radio), the elements on the periodic table are named after gods, (Mercury, vanadium (Vanadis) and thorium (Thor); titanium was named after the Greek Titans.

"The name of the titanium dioxide mineral, which has been approved by the International Mineralogical Association, honors Pan Gu, said in Chinese mythology to be the first living being who created the world by separating yin from yang (forming the earth and sky)."

It is amazing how satan has saturated all cultures with things that divert from the one True God. (Matthew 16:22-24). It's like the old subliminal advertising, subtly and not even consciously absorbing what satan wants you to absorb. As Christians operating in the power of the Holy Spirit we can see these ploys for what they are, and use our armor to ward off encroaching worldiness. But as a mental exercise, try to keep how many things in our world are named after false gods and you will be amazed at how long the list gets, very quickly.

God has all the power and the victory. He won and He will prevail at the end of days. Satan's day will end and he will be tossed into the lake of fire, there forever to be tormented for his sins. (Rev 19:20). In the meantime, let's continue praying for the people who are deluded into thinking that the false gods are real and the real God is not, and for revival of many hearts in these days of Noah.

It isn't a coincidence that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender and Transgender movement (LGBT) is that they chose "Pride" as their motto, clarion call, and founding principle. Wasn't that satan's main problem, too? (Isaiah 14:12-15)

"America’s favorite cookie is stirring up more than milk today after Kraft Foods posted a gay pride Oreo on the cookie’s Facebook page.
Oreo posted the photoshopped picture of an Oreo cookie stuffed with rainbow-colored layers of frosting Monday evening with the caption “Proudly support love!”
Over the past 17 hours more than 157,000 people have “liked” the image, 40,000 people have shared it and 20,000 have commented on it."

What struck me about this story is that the man refused to move! Man vs. Bison. BISON ALWAYS WINS!

Bison Gores Man In Yellowstone Park, Throws Him 10 Feet In Air
"Officials in Yellowstone National Park say a Massachusetts man was gored by a bull bison that threw him 10 feet in the air and then pinned him to the ground. The man, who is in his mid-50s, suffered a broken collarbone, shoulder blade, several ribs and a groin injury in Saturday’s encounter near the Norris campground. He was airlifted to an Idaho Falls, Idaho hospital and is expected to recover. His name was not released.
Park officials say the man was not taunting the animal, but let the bull approach within a few feet of where he was sitting and refused to move away.'

Is man just getting stupider? He certainly is not "evolving" ever higher. As a matter of fact, there's big news on the evolution front.

Cyber criminals may have siphoned off 2 bn euros from 60 banks
"Cyber criminals may have attempted to siphon off anywhere between 60 million euros and 2 billion euros in fraudulent transfers from at least 60 banks globally, a McAfee and Guardian Analytics study today said. The study highlighted a highly sophisticated, multi- tiered, global financial fraud ring that is comprised of at least a dozen groups use active and passive automated transfer systems to steal high value amounts from high balance accounts."

World faces an ‘astonishing’ level of cyber threats:
"The West faces an "astonishing" threat of cyberattack and cyberespionage, the British spy chief said Monday.
Thousands of hackers in underground, organized cybercrime networks are targeting businesses, universities and government data.
And the threat isn't only from criminals. Government-sponsored cyber-spying is widespread is certain countries - China chief among them, ABC News reported.
"The extent of what is going on is astonishing," said Jonathan Evans, director general of Britain's MI5, in a speech to financial executives in London Monday. It was his first public address in two years."

Al-Qaeda Trains Norway Islam Convert To Carry Out Terror Plots
"A Norwegian man has received terrorist training from al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen and is awaiting orders to carry out an attack on the West, officials from three European security agencies told The Associated Press on Monday. Western intelligence officials have long feared such a scenario – a convert to Islam who is trained in terrorist methods and can blend in easily in Europe and the United States, traveling without visa restrictions."

MIDDLE EAST

Syria to get more arms from Russia soon-think-tank
"Russia is expected to deliver air defence systems, reconditioned helicopters and fighter jets to Syria this year worth nearly half a billion dollars despite international pressure to halt arms sales to Damascus."

Russia's modern-day Czar, Vladimir Putin, is making the rounds in the Middle East. Russia is prophesied to be a major end times player in the war of Gog and Magog, holding an alliance with Iran, Turkey, Armenia, and other Arab nations to attack Israel in the last days. Putin also visited Israel on this trip.

Putin due in Kingdom today
Amman, Jordan: "Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to begin a working visit to Jordan on Tuesday, during which he will hold talks with His Majesty King Abdullah, according to a Royal Court statement.
The talks will focus on bilateral relations and ways to develop them in various fields, the statement said.
Discussions will also focus on political developments and changes in the Middle East, in addition to efforts to revive peace talks.
Meanwhile, a Jordanian-Russian Business Forum convened in Amman on Monday to “strengthen investment and commercial relations between Jordan and Russia” .
During his one-day visit, the Russian president will also attend the official opening of the Russian Pilgrimage House at the Baptism Site, where, according to Christian beliefs, Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist."

We should pray that Vladimir Putin will be over come by the leading of the Spirit into repentance and submit to Jesus Christ as His sovereign!

Turkey sends letter to UN on jet downed by Syria
"Turkey sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council on June 24 over Syria’s downing of a Turkish warplane in the eastern Mediterranean two days previously. The letter, published by the New York Times, calls the shooting incident a "serious threat to peace and security in the region" and gives information on the coordinates of the location where the plane was struck and where it crashed."

"When people say, "There is peace and security," destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape." (1 Thess 5:3 ISV).

NATO Backs Turkey Against Syria
"NATO on Tuesday firmly backed Turkey saying Syria’s shooting down of a Turkish jet was “unacceptable,"
NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen condemned the incident saying, "We consider this act to be unacceptable and condemn it in the strongest terms…It is another example of the Syrian authorities' disregard for international norms, peace and security, and human life."

Erdogan tells Syria beware Turkish wrath
"Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told Syria to beware the wrath of Turkey after the shooting down of a warplane and said he had ordered the armed forces to react to any military threat from Syria near the two countries' border. Erdogan's warning to Syria reflected increased tensions not only on the Mediterranean coast, where the aircraft was shot down last Friday, but on a long common land border criss-crossed by rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad."

Beware the wrath of He who wrote the words and promised His own wrath in the ancient prophecises, which will come to pass and may even be coming to pass today!

"Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people concealed themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. They said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to endure it?" (Revelation 6:15-17).

Did you know that another Rover is about to land on Mars? Its name is "Curiosity." The following is an amazing short video of NASA technicians and engineers explaining the challenges in creating a machine that will go through space and land on Mars, successfully. On Aug 5, the rover "Curiosity" will land on Mars after what the scientists call the "7 Minutes of Terror".

"From the top of Mars' atmosphere to the planet surface takes seven minutes. Engineers at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have the challenge of going from 13,000 miles per hour to zero in seven minutes to safely touch down on Mars. Those closest to the project have dubbed this entry sequence window "7 minutes of terror." It is the most critical time in the years-long journey and there is zero margin for error. Further complicating the challenge to rapidly reducing entry into the Martian atmosphere is the fact that Mars' atmosphere is 100 times less dense than Earth." (source)

It is an interesting and amazing video in which the scientists who worked on Curiosity describe the sequence of events that has to happen for the small vehicle to hurtle through vast oceans of space, encounter an atmosphere, and make a precision landing. Interspersed with their comments is a computer model video showing what they are describing. As I watched the 5-minute video, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, awe, and gladness that I'm alive to witness such marvels of achievement. I was also thinking about the universe God created, and humankind that He created too, to do these things and to be conscious and sentient and have a mind, unlike ALL the other animals he made.

The video ended with a black screen and three words:

DARE MIGHTY THINGS

While I felt pride in humankind's ambition and achievements on these astronomy and technical matters, my bubble of elation and awe was eventually burst. Of course God wants us to be proud of what we have accomplished, but to achieve such a technological marvel and not to acknowledge the One who gave us the mind, means, and opportunity makes the video more of a Tower of Babel moment than a Parting of the Red Seas moment. Moses was the visible manifestation of the power to part the sea but God was the power! Achievement without being grateful to God is empty. Pursuit of the wonders of the universe without acknowledging the One who created it is not daring nor mighty, but only judgment-worthy.

"because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Rom 1:25)

Why pursue the universe and not its Creator? because they have exchanged the truth with a lie. And in so doing, they may "dare mighty things" but as 2 Timothy 3:4 says, in the last days men will be "treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God."

Of many of these mighty men doing mighty deeds, unless they are saved by Grace, they will say "Many will tell me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?' (Matthew 7:22).

"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;" (Revelation 6:15)

"For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name." (Luke 1:49).

For Jesus, in His power and through His Spirit, that where is the daring to do mighty things comes from. On its own, no matter how cool the feat is at the time, it will be shown to be puffed up and paltry. Not mighty. Poor and worthless.
As long as the focus of our eyes, mind, heart, and strength is Jesus, and that we do all for Him, we will be blessed. What a poor and empty life to dare mighty things but not have the Rock at the center of it? It will simply implode, like a collapsing souffle.

Jesus is the prize. He is the treasure. He is the mighty One! And He is coming in might and in glory!

"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14:62).

Monday, June 25, 2012

Though the world is dark and satan prowls, the Gospel's power to transform lives and enlarge the kindgom is advancing!

As you shake your head is dismay at the darkness that is covering the world, remember the Light is advancing MORE because Jesus is the power! I dare you to watch these two trailers from the DVD Dispatches from the Front series and not be moved by the Gospel's power and awed at the grace and love of our Savior. THIS is what it is all about: salvation

"Frontline Missions is an amazing ministry that produces the Dispatches from the Front DVD series. Here is what the ministry is all about:
Frontline’s key objective is to advance the Gospel, forming vibrant, Word-centered, disciple-making churches, especially in those regions of the world that have the least Light. We are driven by the same desire that animated the apostle Paul who said it was always his ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known (Romans 15:20). We pursue this goal by equipping Christians on the frontlines to reach their own people for Christ, by forming strategic partnerships with them, and by developing creative platforms in countries closed to traditional missions."

Please support missionaries with your prayers and your money. They are on the frontlines. And lives are being changed, eternally.

Joel Osteen worships himselfAt a D.C. rally, it's clear that the megachurch pastor's childlike faith is really about the power of narcissism
The article is from Salon.com, a fairly liberal media outlet. I found it interesting that Mr Osteen's obvious narcissism is apparent even to someone who may be liberal and may be an outsider to the faith.

Pastor Mike Abendroth at No Compromise Radio says that when people realize he is a pastor, they try and make an attempt at spiritual connection with him by saying, "I listen to Joel Osteen." He said as an example to one lady who'd shared that, he had replied,

"Joel Osteen doesn't like to talk about sin because he says we all know about it and we all get enough about that so let's talk about other positive things. Paul talked about sin first. Peter talked about sin first. John the Baptist talked about sin first. All the prophets talked about sin first. And Jesus even talked about sin first. If you don't know you're a sinner, you don't need to know about your savior. If you know how great your sin is, you don't need a greater Savior than all your sin."

He wrote, "The believer’s chief task is to ratify the preexisting divine script of success in his or her individual life — and then to bear testimony to that joyous transformation in a community of like-minded success believers.'

He's right, that is what Mr Osteen preaches, and it is a far cry from true worship of the Living God.

So what IS worship of the True and Living God? Exodus 15:2 gives one example:
"The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him."

Psalm 66:4: "All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing
praise to your name.'

Rather, in the article, Lehmann states, Osteen has the "outlook of someone possessed of grandiose fantasies about the imperial reach of the self."

It is not about us. I don't recall David preaching or writing one psalm that says we can have our best life now. I don't recall Jeremiah the weeping prophet pronouncing that 'it's your time'. Mr Lehmann ends devastatingly with this thought on Mr Osteen's approach, which is:

"theology-free success gospel, pitched exclusively to tales of individual triumph. Osteen’s sermons all begin with a self-empowering chant from believers. “This is my Bible,” it goes in part; “I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have.” But there are legions of dead — now confined by definition, it’s true, in the hated past — who come bearing the testimony that the Bible is not actually about you."

UPDATE #1:
Turkey reveals inside information for the first time. From Hurriyet Daily News in Turkey--
"Turkey has found out that the order to down a Turkish jet was given by the Bashar al-Assad administration, while a ranking Turkish source said the Syrian regime “should pay” for the attack...Breaking its silence about the incident yesterday, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu provided detailed information on how the incident took place and accused of Syria misinforming the international community. "

-------end update. more at link above-------------

Le Figaro, the nearly 200-year-old well respected French newspaper, reports the following today. It has been Google-translated:

"A new air incident between Syria and Turkey , which has no injury or property damage, occurred over the Mediterranean after the crash of a fighter aircraft F-4 Turkish killed Friday by Syria, today said a European diplomatic source. A Casa CN-235 aircraft search and rescue of the Turkish army who participated in the research of the two pilots of the F-4 has been pointed to by a system of Syrian air defense, the last step before opening fire, the source said. This defense system includes a radar and missiles. "When an aircraft is pointed to by a system of defense, he is warned by his instruments, and that's what happened," the source said. It is unclear whether the aircraft was at the time of this incident in Syrian airspace, or within 12 nautical miles (approx. 22 km) from the Syrian coast, or in the international arena. This incident, which held on Friday or Saturday, was reported by the Turkish Foreign Ministry diplomats of the countries of the European Union and NATO at a meeting Sunday in Ankara, the source said. A fighter plane F- 4 Turkey was shot deadFriday by Syrian air defense , while, according to Ankara, he made ​​a training mission, was unarmed, and was in international airspace, after a brief foray into space Syrian. Both drivers are missing. Following this incident, Turkey requested an urgent meeting with his allies of NATO , which will take place tomorrow in Brussels.'

Now the fact that Turkey is calling an urgent meeting of NATO is very interesting. The entire point of the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations is that it provides umbrella defense for each of its members. "The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party' NATO has added new members seven times since first forming in 1949, and now comprises 28 nations," according to Wikipedia. The member nations are: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Rep, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

Did Turkey call an urgent NATO meeting for the purpose of requesting military defense? Turkey has promised to answer the Syrian attack definitively.

But the Post reports in its opening sentence that NATO will likely not respond militarily. There seems to be little appetite for yet another military intervention. However, the second incident, reported today of the missile radar locking onto the Turkish search and rescue jet, does not bode well for a peaceful outcome, or even of Syria passing a straight-face test about wanting to remain "neighborly."

With Turkey and Syria at odds in the north, Egypt and Israel in the south are at a low point in relations. With the election of a hardened Islamist to the Egyptian Presidency, on the back of a successful campaign that had vowed to march to Jerusalem and take it over, Israel is understandably worried. The rocket attacks from Gaza have been increasing. Yet another truce has been formed but Israeli PM Netanyahu vowed to hit Gaza if this one is broken.With Hamas's track record in keeping truces (the one agreed to earlier in the week lasted only a few hours) I am not holding out hope that Israel's patience will remain forbearing forever.

What to do? Keep looking up for our Redemption, He is in total control. Don't you think it is amazing that the ancient, centuries old prophecies of Isaiah 17, Isaiah 19, Ezekiel 38-39, Psalm 83 are all unfolding so precisely?

Yet this is the very time for fervent prayer that people in the path of these prophecies to have their eyes and heart opened to the truth of Jesus's soon return. Pray, pray, pray, Don't just pray once a week, or once a day, fervent prayer at this tumultuous time at the very END of the age is called for.

There was a persistent widow, you see,

"Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”' (Luke 18:1-8)

The disciples had asked when the Kingdom would come. Jesus answered in this parable, saying in the example that they should not ever, ever, ever give up praying. If an unjust judge responds to persistence, how much MORE so will the Righteous Branch of the Protector of Israel respond? Here is a preached explanation of the kind of faith Jesus will be looking for at His return:

"However, when the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?" Will He find this kind of persevering faith? Will He find this kind of persevering prayer? Will He find this kind of enduring confidence? This is definitely eschatological praying. No one of us knows the time of the Rapture. We don't know when the events that are the Second Coming will be launched. We don't know when the day of the Lord is going to come, but two thousand years have passed by, believers have been waiting and waiting, and suffering at the hand of sinners. Sin escalates, evil men grow worse and worse and worse. We see the pollution inside and outside Christendom. False teachers abound everywhere. We're endeavoring to endure true and faithful, trusting in the Word of God. We have been promised that He will come. We believe that He will come. And here He says, "Keep praying for that event." He will come but part of the means of that coming is our prayer life. Prayer moves God to accomplish His work and therefore having accomplished His work, bringing it to its great culmination in His Second Coming. He will come. He promises He will come. He will be faithful to His elect. He will bring judgment to the ungodly. He will vindicate the saints. He will exalt Himself. He will establish His throne on earth. He will reign in a Kingdom on earth and He will establish the new heaven and the new earth. And that is what we are to pray for relentlessly." (source)

So pray for hearts to be changed. Pray for repentance. Pray for eyes to be opened to the nearness of the times. Pray for sins to be forgiven. Pray Pray Pray!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

I have such a burden for Egypt. I am so glad that in the end of the end, they will be blessed by God, (Is 19:25), but the road ahead for them is a tremendously difficult one, because a 40-year desolation is prophesied (Ez 29:9).

The road ahead for Jerusalem is not paved with glitter, either. In Jerusalem, the houses will be ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile..." (Zechariah 14:2).

This convergence is getting closer all the time. The man who just won the Egyptian presidency is so anti-Israel it is quite serious. His ascension to the power of this nation prophesied to be a great part of the last days' events is ominous in the extreme.
Andrew Breitbart's site reports the following:

Doesn't it feel as if the whole world has simply gone insane? Well, it has. God is giving us over to our sins. To some, He is giving over to a reprobate (depraved) mind in homosexuality and lesbianism. Others, He is giving over to their rebellion against Him in apostasy and atheism. (2 Thess 2:3). Still others, He is giving over to their addictions, porn, drugs, alcohol. He is giving us over- individually and nationally. You can read more about that process here, and how it is called the Wrath of Divine Abandonment (Romans 1:18-32).

"Just as the Zombie threat appears to finally be lifting it seems America could be at the mercy of an even deadlier menace. A mob of Leprechauns are carrying out vicious attacks in and around the city of Seattle, according to a man who claims to be one of their latest victims. The pint-sized brutes were allegedly hopping mad after catching the man dancing with the wrong girl at a Belltown bar. Officers arrived at the scene of a bar fight to find the man covered in blood and screaming in pain with his head held in his hands. When officers asked who had attacked him, the man replied: 'It was a bunch of leprechauns.' According to the victim the one of his assailants was wearing a white tank top. There were no additional reports of merry jigs turning ugly or stolen pots of gold. The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center with multiple head injuries and cuts and bruises on his face, back, knuckles and elbows."

Gawker wrote, "Following the recent proliferation of zombie-related news stories, it appears America has now moved on to attacks by other fantastical characters. ... Typically, leprechauns are not seen outside of the weeks before and after St. Patrick's Day, March 17. The fact that these leprechauns were spotted in June, and so far from their native Ireland, suggests that perhaps they are rabid or otherwise deranged. The victim claims the leprechauns in question were angry at him for dancing with a woman (possibly a banshee?) at the bar. One of them one was reportedly wearing "a white tank top." A witness on the scene told cops that a group of men was responsible for the attack, which is exactly what the bleeding man said, so thank you, redundant witness.The man was taken to a local hospital and treated for injuries. The leprechauns have yet to be apprehended. Be vigilant all ye travelers."

Well, let's take this logically. Yes. it can be done. In recent times-say the last ten years- we have had a cultural saturation of all kinds of occult and supernatural beings. I mean, of course they were present in the culture prior to this, in books and movies etc. Bram Stoker's famous book, Dracula, was published in 1897. But I'm talking a saturation, with total fascination, cultural demand and clamor for more. We had the Harry Potter phenomenon first. The series of books, movies and Harry Potter brand is now worth 15 BILLION dollars. And Harry is such a NICE warlock, isn't he?

Then along came vampires. Edward and Bella and the Twilight series. Edward is such a nice vampire, isn't he? And of course the werewolf. As of October 2010, the series has sold over 116 million copies worldwide with translations into at least 38 different languages around the globe. The four Twilight books have consecutively set records as the biggest selling novels of 2008 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list and have spent over 235 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Series Books. Children's books!

"Charmed" was a popular TV show ten years ago about the three Halliwell sisters, the world's most powerful good witches ("The Charmed Ones"), who must collectively use their innate magical powers to defend the "innocents" of San Francisco from various demons, warlocks and other evil beings, and usher in the next generation of good witches."

Now we have the reignited interest in Zombies. Wiki says "A zombie is an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means, such as witchcraft. Zombie fiction is now a sizeable sub-genre of horror, usually describing a breakdown of civilization occurring when most of the population become flesh-eating zombies — a zombie apocalypse."

The real-life zombie apocalypse event with the cannibalism incident in Miami and the others that followed in the US and Canada certainly gives impetus to the notion that civilization is breaking down only to reveal a pack of zombies waiting to feast on you.

Now leprechauns. What else is in the pantheon? We've had witches and warlocks, zombies, vampires and werewolves. Maybe next to emerge will be imps, goblins, gremlins, elves?

Mary sightings! Mary sightings go on unabated, as always. She is popping up everywhere. Not the Mary of the Magnficat, the beloved and obedient - human- Mary mother of Jesus as shown to us in Luke. I'm talking the Catholic version of Mary, who to them is the Queen of Heaven and answerer of prayers, sinless and ascended just like Jesus. THAT Mary is being sighted all over. She has been apparently spotted so often that the Vatican just published new rules for Mary sightings. I am not making that up.